The MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) is an airborne scanning spectrometer that acquires high spatial resolution imagery of cloud and surface features from its vantage point on-board a NASA ER-2 high-altitude research aircraft. This dataset has visible and infrared imagery calibrated to at-sensor radiance. Included are many associated browse files including the flight line tracks, and also text files of nadir brightness temperature and radiance for selected bands.

The TCSP ER-2 MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) dataset was collected by a MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS), which is a multi-spectral line-scanner system that acquires image data in 50 spectral bands over wavelengths ranging from 0.46 to 14.3 microns. Flown on the ER-2 aircraft at an operating altitude of 19.8 km (65,000 ft.), it produces nominal pixel sizes of 50 meters. MAS includes nine spectral bands in the visible/near infrared, 16 bands in the shortwave infrared, 16 bands in the mid-wave infrared, and nine bands in the thermal infrared regions of the spectrum. The instrument field-of-view is 86 degrees, with an IFOV of 2.5 mrad. The MAS collected calibrated multi-spectral imagery from the ER-2 aircraft during the TCSP experiment. The MAS was developed by NASA primarily to validate L1B and L2 science products from the EOS satellite program. MAS data enables (1) the mapping of sub-pixel variation within the co-incident footprints of many orbital instruments (e.g. MODIS, AIRS, HIRS, AVHRR, GOES) in the visible and thermal infrared spectral regions and (2) the estimation of surface, aerosol, and cloud properties at 50 meter spatial resolution. The TCSP mission collected data for research and documentation of cyclogenesis, the interaction of temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind and air pressure that creates ideal birthing conditions for tropical storms, hurricanes and related phenomena. The goal of this mission was to help us better understand how hurricanes and other tropical storms are formed and intensify.

The MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) is an airborne scanning spectrometer that acquires high spatial resolution imagery of cloud and surface features from its vantage point on-board a NASA ER-2 high-altitude research aircraft. This dataset has visible and infrared imagery calibrated to at-sensor radiance. Included are many associated browse files including the flight line tracks, and also text files of nadir brightness temperature and radiance for selected bands.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Airborne Simulator (MAS) sensor was developed for NASA's high-altitude ER-2 research aircraft by Daedalus Enterprises, Inc., in support of the MODIS remote sensing algorithm development. The overall goal was to modify the spectral coverage and gains of the MAS to emulate as many of the MODIS spectral channels as possible. With its much higher spatial resolution (50 m vs. 250-1000 m for MODIS), MAS is able to provide unique information on the small-scale distribution of various geophysical parameters. The MAS instrument has been deployed on multiple platforms for many field campaigns since its first mission in 1991, as the prototype Wildfire Spectrometer. For more information and for a list of MAS campaign flights visit ladsweb at: https://ladsweb.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/missions-and-measurements/mas/

THORPEX_ER2_MAS data are THe Observing-system Research and Predictability EXperiment (THORPEX) ER_2 MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) Data in HDF covering Hawaii and the Pacific Ocean.THe Observing-system Research and predictability experiment (THORpex) is a ten-year international research program where the primary objective is to accelerate improvements in short range weather predictions and warnings over the Northern Hemisphere. The fifth in an ongoing series of ER-2 field experiments, THORpex is the primary over-water validation experiment for the GIFTS (Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer) satellite. The MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) is an airborne scanning spectrometer that acquires high spatial resolution imagery of cloud and surface features from its vantage point on-board a NASA ER-2 high-altitude research aircraft. The MAS spectrometer acquires high spatial resolution imagery in the range of 0.55 to 14.3 microns. A total of 50 spectral bands are available in this range. A 50-channel digitizer which records all 50 spectral bands at 12 bit resolution became operational in January 1995. The MAS spectrometer is mated to a scanner sub-assembly which collects image data with an IFOV of 2.5 mrad, giving a ground resolution of 50 meters from 20000 meters altitude, and a cross track scan width of 85.92 degrees.

The MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) Level-2 Cloud Data product (MASL2CLD) consists of cloud optical and physical parameters. These parameters are derived using remotely sensed infrared and near infrared solar reflected radiances. Multispectral images of the reflectance and brightness temperature at 10 wavelengths between 0.66 and 13.98nm were used to derive the probability of clear sky (or cloud), cloud thermodynamic phase, and the optical thickness and effective radius of liquid water and ice clouds. MASL2CLD product files are stored in Hierarchical Data Format (HDF-EOS). All gridded cloud parameters are stored as Scientific Data Sets (SDS) within the file. For more information and for a list of MAS campaign flights visit ladsweb at: https://ladsweb.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/missions-and-measurements/mas/

The TCSP ER-2 DOPPLER RADAR (EDOP) dataset was collected by the ER-2 Doppler radar (EDOP), which is an X-band (9.6 GHz) Doppler radar mounted in the nose of the ER-2 aircraft that provides vertically profiled reflectivity and Doppler velocity at aircraft nadir along the flight track. The instrument has two fixed antennas, one pointing at nadir and the second pointing approximately 33 degrees ahead of nadir. The beam width of the antenna is 3 degree in the vertical and horizontal directions which, for a 20 km altitude, yields a nadir footprint at the surface of 1 km. Each Antenna measures the doppler velocity, doppler spectral width, and reflectivity factor. Doppler velocities provide a measure of the pulse volume-weighted hydrometer motion (hydrometer fallspeed + air motion). Vertical air motion can be calculated from the nadir beam by removing the fallspeed contribution with an approximation. The linear depolarization ratio (the ratio of the cross-polar to the co-polar reflectivites) can be measured along the forward beam. EDOP provides measurements from a forward pointing beam that is used in combination with the nadir beam for estimating the along-track winds. The TCSP mission collected data for research and documentation of cyclogenesis, the interaction of temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind and air pressure that creates ideal birthing conditions for tropical storms, hurricanes and related phenomena. The goal of this mission was to help us better understand how hurricanes and other tropical storms are formed and intensify.

SCAR_A_ER2_MAS data are Sulfates, Clouds and Radiation America (SCARA) NASA ER2 Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) Airborne Simulator (MAS) Data in Hierarchical Data Format (HDF).Smoke/Sulfates, Clouds and Radiation - America (SCAR-A) data include physical and chemical components of the Earth's surface, the atmosphere and the radiation field collected in the eastern part of the United States with an emphasis in air pollution.The primary objective of the SCAR-A experiment was to help scientists characterize the the relationship between sulfate particles and clouds' reflective properties. Sulfate aerosols are believed to provide condensation nuclei, resulting in smaller, more numerous droplets within a cloud. SCAR-A was the first in a series of experiments. It was was followed by the SCAR-C experiment conducted over California in 1994. A third experiment, SCAR-B was conducted in Brazil during August and September 1995. The MODIS Airbourne Simulator (MAS) is a modified Daedalus Wildfire scanning spectrometer which flies on a NASA ER-2 and provides spectral information similar to that provided by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), launched on Terra (EOS AM-1) in 1999 and Aqua (EOS PM-1) in 2002. The MAS spectrometer acquires high spatial resolution imagery in the wavelength range of 0.55 to 14.3 microns. A total of 50 spectral bands are available in this range, and the digitizer can be configured to collect data from any 12 of these bands. The digitizer was configured with four 10-bit channels and seven 8-bit channels. The MAS spectrometer was mated to a scanner subassembly which collected image data with an IFOV of 2.5 mrad, giving a ground resolution of 50 meters from 20000 meters altitude, and a cross track scan width of 85.92 degrees. The data granules were written using the self documenting file storage format provided through the netCDF interface routines included in the HDF libraries.

The TCSP ER-2 DOPPLER RADAR (EDOP) dataset was collected by the ER-2 Doppler radar (EDOP), which is an X-band (9.6 GHz) Doppler radar mounted in the nose of the ER-2 aircraft that provides vertically profiled reflectivity and Doppler velocity at aircraft nadir along the flight track. The instrument has two fixed antennas, one pointing at nadir and the second pointing approximately 33 degrees ahead of nadir. The beam width of the antenna is 3 degree in the vertical and horizontal directions which, for a 20 km altitude, yields a nadir footprint at the surface of 1 km. Each Antenna measures the doppler velocity, doppler spectral width, and reflectivity factor. Doppler velocities provide a measure of the pulse volume-weighted hydrometer motion (hydrometer fallspeed + air motion). Vertical air motion can be calculated from the nadir beam by removing the fallspeed contribution with an approximation. The linear depolarization ratio (the ratio of the cross-polar to the co-polar reflectivites) can be measured along the forward beam. EDOP provides measurements from a forward pointing beam that is used in combination with the nadir beam for estimating the along-track winds. The TCSP mission collected data for research and documentation of cyclogenesis, the interaction of temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind and air pressure that creates ideal birthing conditions for tropical storms, hurricanes and related phenomena. The goal of this mission was to help us better understand how hurricanes and other tropical storms are formed and intensify.

THORPEX_ER2_MAS data are THe Observing-system Research and Predictability EXperiment (THORPEX) ER_2 MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) Data in HDF covering Hawaii and the Pacific Ocean.THe Observing-system Research and predictability experiment (THORpex) is a ten-year international research program where the primary objective is to accelerate improvements in short range weather predictions and warnings over the Northern Hemisphere. The fifth in an ongoing series of ER-2 field experiments, THORpex is the primary over-water validation experiment for the GIFTS (Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer) satellite. The MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) is an airborne scanning spectrometer that acquires high spatial resolution imagery of cloud and surface features from its vantage point on-board a NASA ER-2 high-altitude research aircraft. The MAS spectrometer acquires high spatial resolution imagery in the range of 0.55 to 14.3 microns. A total of 50 spectral bands are available in this range. A 50-channel digitizer which records all 50 spectral bands at 12 bit resolution became operational in January 1995. The MAS spectrometer is mated to a scanner sub-assembly which collects image data with an IFOV of 2.5 mrad, giving a ground resolution of 50 meters from 20000 meters altitude, and a cross track scan width of 85.92 degrees.